The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be used in place of the advice of a healthcare professional. While my wife and I have been taking magnesium supplements every day for years, I can't say how they might affect you. Always consult a doctor if you have health concerns: don't try to self-diagnose!

What Is Fibromyalgia?

The most common symptom of fibromyalgia (or ‘FM’ or ‘Fibro’ as sufferers call it) is widespread muscle pain. Other common symptoms include fatigue and cognitive dysfunction (‘fibrofog’).

The cause of the ache and fatigue remains unclear, though some research shows that people with fibromyalgia may have developed a greater sensitivity to pain.

Trauma, repetitive motion, and surgery have all been linked to initial fibromyalgia symptoms in some people. Genetics may also play a part.

What Medication Is Available?

A number of medications may be helpful, specifically Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Savella. How successful they are can depend on the level of pain, depression, muscle activity, or sleep-related problems.

In particular the pain reducing properties of these medications may be due to the release of neurotransmitters in the brain.

Unfortunately, as with any medication there may be side effects. Lyrica may induce sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of the extremities. Cymbalta may bring depression and have suicidal risks. Savella may have similar side effects but is specifically associated with nausea, insomnia, heart rate anomalies, and BP problems.

Coping Naturally By Reducing Stress

Physical and mental stress are associated with many instances of fibromyalgia. Working to reduce the overall stress in your environment can have a positive impact on symptoms. So can reducing your body’s response to stress.

It is important to take care of yourself by eliminating what stress you can. You can’t say no to everything, but you can often temporarily set some things aside so that you can focus on healing.

Some stressors you can’t eliminate, though. Good ways to cope with these include relaxation, exercise, meditation, and getting more sleep. In particular, cardiovascular exercise has been shown to reduce symptom severity.

Magnesium For Fibromyalgia?

Even more interesting, another study showed that supplementing with magnesium citrate actually reduced the number of tender points as well as their severity. It also helped reduce the depression that is often associated with fibromyalgia.

There’s also an infographic at Cure Together that shows a range of fibromyalgia treatments and how well each has helped people who responded to a poll. Magnesium is in the upper right quadrant of treatments which puts it in the ‘effective and popular’ group.

Personally, I picked up some magnesium for my mom shortly after I realized just how much it was helping me with migraines, anxiety, and dizziness. She reported it helped greatly with her fibromyalgia. In particular my mom said magnesium malate helped her the most.

She asked me to post here about how happy she is taking magnesium for fibromyalgia pain.

What Helps You?

If you have fibromyalgia and have found a way to cope that helps you, please let us know in the comments below.

As always, you are strongly encouraged to consult with your physician or other qualified medical professional to help determine your own optimal level of magnesium, and to see whether magnesium supplementation is right for you.

Comments

I have suffered with fibromyalgia since 1996 and am unfortunate to have all the pressure points, the pain if anyone touches me is horrendous and I have not had a proper nights sleep for what seems to be forever. I have at last found something that helps me cope better, to me this is a miracle called “magnesium tablets” . Recently I ran out and was unable to go out to get some more, I won’t make that mistake again and make sure I have enough to last until I am next able to get out.

Fibromyalgia can be so hard to live with, especially if you have a lot of the symptoms and so learning about different ways to treat it can be really beneficial. I am definitely going to refer this article onto my sister, who suffers terribly with chronic pain.

I am a 44 yr. old female, and I have a fairly severe case of FMS, CFS for which I can recall small symptoms starting at about age 18. Factors affecting the advancement of these syndromes for me are; being female, pregnancies, anesthesia used for the c-section birth of my second child, peri-menopause (advancing age), and a strong family history (inheritance).

Through the years, I’ve tried oh so many ‘natural remedies. I won’t bore you. I am under the care of a physician now, fully diagnosed. This is what helps me in order of importance: biest topical cream along with bioidentical progesterone cream (both of which I obtain OTC), magnesium malate (300 to 400 mg daily, depending on symptoms, rarely do I need more than 300 mg), vitamin D3 (1,000 IUs a day 9 months of the year, 2,000 IUs a day during the 3 months of winter), a healthy and mineral rich diet free of soda, caffeine and alcohol, trying very hard not to eat chocolate (actually, I find if I’m craving it, I am needing more magnesium), gentle stretching exercise along with some calisthenics and dancing to raise my heart rate (it can be tricky to know when to get moving and when it’s best to rest) , and most nights I take 10 mg of Flexeril, which i’m not thrilled about, but find it does help enough to want to take it when I need it. My doctor would like it if I would take duloxetine (crazy expensive Cymbalta) as well, but antidepressants turn me into a manic mess. I’m not having that on top of FMS/CFS.

I’m a black belt at reducing stress, but there’s only so much we can control in life, so that’s a job within itself. I feel most of the things I do to survive with this kind of double-crushing blow are automatic by now, even though it’s only been two years since the majority of this strategy has been implemented. It took a long time to get diagnosed, and sometimes I can’t believe how much pain and suffering of a multitude of other symptoms I put up with for so many years without giving up on life. I’m glad I am as well as I am now, which does still fluctuate, but I can tell you this; within 72 hours of starting magnesium malate, I could tell I’d struck gold. It changed my pain and energy levels for the better, and I would never, ever dream of going without it.

Disclaimer: The content provided on this site is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for the advice of a healthcare professional. You should not use this information as self-diagnosis or for treating a health problem or disease. Information and statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition. If you are experiencing any health problem, always consult a doctor before attempting any treatment on your own.

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